Infographic: VAT refund in Argentina, does it apply to you?

The Government of Argentina announced this Wednesday that the treasury will return to consumers what they pay in value added tax (VAT), a measure that seeks to alleviate the blow to the pockets dealt by the very high inflation that is registered in the South American country.

"We have established a VAT refund program for 21% of the total basic basket of Argentina," said the Argentine Minister of Economy and presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, in an appearance.

Massa said that work must be done on the "rate of income recovery in Argentina", not only "in the next quarter but in the next four years."

The announcement came a few hours after the official inflation index for August was known, which was 12.4% in relation to July and 124.4% in interannual terms.

The jump is directly related to the abrupt 22% devaluation that the Argentine peso suffered on August 14, one day after the primary elections in Argentina with a view to the presidential elections in October.

The sudden devaluation in the official exchange rate, which the Government attributed to a requirement imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), immediately translated into a rise in the price of the dollar in the parallel quotes that follow many links in the economy to set prices on all types of goods and services.

"The month of August has probably been the month that hit Argentines' pockets the hardest with inflation," Massa admitted.

The minister assured that the measure announced this Wednesday seeks that "that blow and that injury that the impact of inflation due to the devaluation imposed by the IMF represents in the pocket of each Argentine family has the State taking the initiative to return their effort".